Joda: Amid allegations of textbook shortage, an attempt to sell off school textbooks was stopped by the public at Basudevpur in the Joda block of Keonjhar district Wednesday.
Reports said villagers had got hints about an attempt to sell off textbooks provided to students of the Government Girls’ High School.
They said that an Assistant Teacher was trying to take away the textbooks of Classes IX and X and other study material in a pick-up van Monday when the headmaster was absent.
Villagers rushed to the school and removed the study material from the van. Higher officials of the education department were informed about the attempt, the villagers said.
However, assistant teacher Pandarp Nayak told the villagers that he was selling the books after consulting the School Managing Committee.
The villagers asserted that the teacher had never intimated the headmaster or the president of the SMC about selling the textbooks and notebooks.
The villagers said that when students of the school have to face a lot of problems without textbooks, the attempt by the teacher to sell them off was condemnable.
The villagers demanded a high level probe into the matter, and said they will draw the attention of the Collector to the matter.
Additional welfare extension officer Bijay Kumar Giri said the villagers had informed the matter to him.
“The school is closed now and the headmaster is on leave. This attempt was made before the summer vacation ended. An investigation can be carried out only after the school opens. Stern action will be taken against the guilty,” he added.
PNN